South African heavyweight champion Shaun “God’s Warrior” Potgieter was beaten in two rounds by undefeated Australian prospect Justis Huni in his big international debut in Gold Coast on Wednesday night.
Potgieter, who won the title from Keaton Gomes and beat the Joshua Pretorius, another former national title-holder, was quickly overpowered by world-ranked Huni, who survived a 10th-round scare to beat Kevin Lerena on points in March last year.
Potgieter, trapped in the corner, was unable to avoid Huni’s punches and the referee stepped in to wave it over.
Huni improved his record to 12 wins (seven by stoppage) while Potgieter dropped to 10 victories and two defeats, both inside the distance.
Two stepping stone titles, one belonging to the WBO and the other the IBF, were on the line, though before the bout Huni was already being touted for a shot against Moses Itauma of Britain, also world-ranked, later in the year.
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